Posts Tagged With: Matzu

The Matsu Islands (馬祖列島) are an archipelago of small islands, owned by Taiwan but very close to the Chinese coast, to the northwest of Taiwan proper. They are an excellent few days away from Taipei or any other big city, have some great attractions, and a very laid back vibe. The only negative, which really isn’t a problem at all, is that the islands are heavily militarized. But other than seeing the old bunkers everywhere (And I mean EVERYWHERE) the military presence really doesn’t affect the mood, in my opinion. In fact, I had several great conversations with solders, some of which said they really didn’t mind being stationed on those remote islands!

The Matsu archipelago is made up of 19 islands, but only a few are accessible to tourists. Of those, I visited the “main” island of Nangan, Dongyin (and it’s very close neighbor Xiyin), and Beigan (and it’s very close neighbor Daqiu). There are two that I would have loved to see called Dongju and Xiju, but they’ll have to wait for a different visit.

Before I go any further, let me highly, highly recommend Richard Saunder’s guidebook “The Islands of Taiwan”. I would have been totally lost without it. I’ve placed some links as to where you can buy it below.

Also, I’ve uploaded these pictures in a different way from before, so if you want to see them bigger (and sharper), just click on it.

Like this:

My last travel photography post on Lotus Lake in Kaohsiung, Taiwan 台灣高雄 got a lot of hits, so I thought I’d share some more. These are from a weekend I spent in the southern Taiwanese city shooting for Cathay Pacific/Dragon Air’s in-flight magazine “Silkroad” last Spring.

I had a long list of places to visit including Liuhu Night Market (六合夜市), Central Park and the new KMRT subway system, Urban Spotlight (城市光廊), Love River (愛河), The Matsu (媽祖) Temple and some other attractions on Cijin Island (旗津區).

I have a great time every time I go down there and often try to convince myself to move there for good. It’s definitely an up-and-coming city whose image and economy should be boosted by this summer’s World Games.

Cijin Island (旗津區) is a very nice beach area that is actually a barrier island to the very busy Port of Kaohsiung. You can take the ferry (旗津渡輪) for about 33 US cents or drive through a tunnel at the south end. On the Island, you’ll find a nice beach, a night market renowned for its fresh seafood, and an interesting Matsu Temple.

Matsu Temple is located in the middle of the night market on Cijin Island.

Matsu Temple is located in the middle of the night market on Cijin Island.

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Welcome to Taiwan photographer Neil Wade's not-so-personal, personal blog. The message I portray in it tends to wander from time to time but is always representative of my personal love for photography.

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